Various devices have been proposed to administer or dispense capsules or other types of oral medication to animals. One device includes a tube having a pill holding chamber on one end with a pair of gripping rings on the opposite end. The tube has a rod mounted therethrough, one end designed to force the pill from the pill chamber by manually forcing the opposite end of the rod through the tube. This device is cumbersome in that it requires two hands to manipulate and dispense the pill. In addition, manual sliding of the rod does not always provide sufficient force to inject the pill down an animal's throat.
Other dispensing devices use a spring mechanism to eject or dispense the oral medication. U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,593 to Weil et al. discloses a balling gun which automatically cocks upon insertion of a capsule into the gun. The balling gun has a pistol grip on one end and has a complicated firing mechanism requiring rotation of a tube and interaction between the tube and a conical projection on an adjacent rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,017,783 to Clark discloses a capsule administering device including a duck-bill clamp which retains a capsule in a desired position prior to insertion of the instrument into the throat of an animal. The duck-bill clamp opens to permit dispensing of the capsule under action of a spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 453,508 to Ruby also discloses a veterinary instrument having a clamp like distal end and a pistol grip at the proximal end for administering a capsule to an animal. This instrument has a capsule clamping device which is spring biased and released by a trigger mechanism.
One disadvantage of the prior art devices disclosed above includes a complex mechanism to dispense capsules or a medication to animals, the mechanism requiring many moving parts. In addition, certain prior art devices are difficult to simultaneously manipulate and dispense the medication and have high manufacturing costs.
In response to these drawbacks, a need has developed to provide a simple, low cost and easily manipulating balling gun for dispensing of oral medication to animals.
In response to this need, the present invention provides an automatic balling gun having a slim tubular profile which is simple to use, low in cost and easily manipulated to dispense medication to an animal.